Light bulbs are very important accessories in a house. There is no way the construction and decoration of a house will be complete without the light bulb. Besides, how will you see at night if your house doesn’t have bulbs?

Over time, light bulbs have evolved and have been adapted. If you have recently visited a store for a light bulb, you surely would have noticed that a high percentage of the bulbs for sale are LED bulbs. LED Bulbs or Light Emitting Diode bulbs are modern energy-efficient bulbs that not only provide light to any room it is used in but also serve as décor. Before Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs were made, incandescent bulbs were everyone’s choice of bulbs. As new technology advances were made, it was discovered that Incandescent bulbs were draining lots of energy and producing heat. Because of this issues, in came CFL Bulbs or in a more elaborate name Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs are more efficient and save lots of energy compared to the incandescent ones. In addition, the light quality of Compact Florescent Light bulbs was way better than that of Incandescent bulbs. But that is where it stops. LED Bulbs beat CFL bulbs in a lot of ways especially when it comes to energy efficiency, life span and quality of light produced. LED bulbs to have a lifespan of at least 20 years while you’ll be lucky to see a fluorescent bulb last 2 to 5 years.

All these points to why it is important to have the right LED bulb in all the rooms in your house. Deciding you want to use a LED bulb is the easy part, how to choose LED Bulbs is the daunting part.

How to choose LED Bulbs: Things to consider and do when selecting LED bulbs

Make a List

This is a no brainer but It is the first thing a lot of people forget to do. Most people just go into the store to get bulbs and they start doing mental recalls of how many bulbs they need.

Before deciding which kind of LED bulb you want to buy, make a list of the type and number of light bulbs or bulb sockets in your house. Regardless of the type of bulb, you are currently using, a lot of bulbs usually have the voltage, power, and type of base a bulb has written or printed on them. If you do not see any markings on the bulb that indicates what type of bulb you are using, you can check online for it.  Typically, a lot of household bulbs are screw bulbs so you can start with that. If you have recessed lights or safety floodlights around your home, there is a high chance you are looking at reflector type bulbs. If you also use fluorescent tubes, you should include them in the list because there are LED bulbs that can replace them too.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that although some LED bulbs might be expensive, they serve their worth over a long period compared to other types of bulbs. After you create a list, you can now move on to the next tip.

The Label

The label on the LED bulb you are buying is very important. You simply have to read it. Most of the details and information of the LED light bulb are provided on the paper box/packaging it is enclosed it.

Note: The information you are looking for on the package is usually at the back and sometimes at the side.

You are only concerned with two keywords on the package: “Light appearance” and “brightness”.

  • Brightness

LED Bulbs are quite different from the usual old-fashioned bulbs that were in vogue before. All old-fashioned bulbs are rated in Watts. The higher the watts rating, the brighter the bulb is.

You cannot determine the brightness of LED bulbs using Watts. The brightness of a LED bulb can be determined by check for the value of lumens printed in front of “Brightness” on the bulb’s label. Do not fall for the trick of checking the watts rating printed in front of the bulb’s package. It does not truly represent the brightness of the bulb.

For instance, if you want to replace a 100-watt bulb, you need to buy a LED light Bulb of about 1,600 lumens. In addition, 450 lumens LED bulb can be used to replace a 40-watt bulb. Below is a short table of what the lumen equivalence of Watts-rated bulbs looks like.

 

 

Incandescent light bulbs (watts)

LED bulbs

150

2,600 lumens

100 rated bulb

1,600 Lumens

75 rated bulb

1,100 Lumens

60 rated bulb

800 lumens

40 rated bulb

450 lumens

25

240 lumens

Note: There is a misconception a lot of people don’t bother to check how solid or true it is. A lot of people usually imagine watts printed on the package of all incandescent bulbs represent the brightness. This is very wrong. The brightness of a bulb is measured in Lumen while its energy consumption can be measured in Watts. While they work hand in hand, they are a bit different from each other.

  • Light Appearance

The “light appearance” of an LED bulb is used to refer to the temperature of the color the bulb produces. It ranges between Warm and Cool.

The value of “light Appearance” is measured in Kelvin (K). A lower value indicates how warm the bulb is while higher temperature indicates its coolness. For Instance, a LED bulb rated between 2,700K to 3,000K will produce warm light in any room it is placed in. it is the ideal bulb you can use in your electric lamps. However, LED light bulbs that are at least 5,000K rating produce cool light.

Consider the enclosed fixtures you have

It is very easy to enter a store and pick up LED bulbs, especially when LED bulbs can last more than a decade. However, what a lot of people fail to consider are their enclosed devices or fixtures that enclose light bulbs.

One reason why LED bulbs last more than a year is that they can dissipate the heat produced as soon as they accumulate. When LED bulbs are in enclosed devices, they are not able to dissipate the heat. The heat produced will then accumulate in the bulb which can damage it. Because of these, there are specially made LED bulbs that you can use for situations like that. This kind of light bulbs is made using heat resistant components and parts which can withstand lots of heat compared to the normal LED bulbs.

LED bulbs and Dimmers

Dimmers are very useful especially in the room for dimming the light when retiring to the bed. A lot of LED bulbs can be dimmed. The only thing you need to consider is the kind of LED bulbs the dimmer you want to use is compatible with. This way you won’t just buy a LED bulb that would end up not working with the dimmer.

If you do not have much information about the kind of dimmer you are using, you can check online. You can also check the websites of some LED bulbs manufacturers. You can check the kind of LED bulbs that are compatible with dimmers. Then you can check to see if your dimmer is one of the listed dimmers.

LED Bulbs are not suitable for some purposes

While LED bulbs are efficient and save money, there are someplace they are not ideal for. This is because if used in these positions, they end up betraying the main reason why you bought them.

  • Oven

Regardless of the reason behind the decision, putting a LED bulb in an oven is a very bad idea. One reason is that the heat the bulb produce and the one the oven generates will work together to kill the bulb in no time.

  • Garage Door

A LED bulb can affect your garage door’s remote controls. For this reason, most of the manufacturers producing garage doors usually have lists of LED bulbs that won’t cause any interference with the remote control. It is more advisable and wise to use incandescent bulbs for this purpose. If you are not comfortable with the old-fashioned bulbs, you should try to get a compatibility list from your garage door’s manufacturer.

Disk Lights for your ceiling

When choosing LED bulbs for your ceiling, there are two options available. One is impractical and quite expensive, the other is very okay.

The first option is that you can pay to have recessed can light installed for you. This is quite expensive and there is an easier option than it. Disk Lights offer a cheap and effective alternative to recessed can lights. They can blend well with the ceiling of any room you install it in.

 

Choosing the best LED light bulb for each room in your house

As important it is to plan for the type of LED bulb to need to buy, you should also need to be able to choose the right LED bulb that compliments the room you put it in. A lot of bulbs produce blue light which can seriously affect sleeping at night it exposed to a lot of it. In addition, it can also affect sleep quality. Blue light stimulates the production of Serotonin which acts to keep the body alert and focused. There are also bulbs that stimulate the brain to produce Melatonin. Melatonin is another hormone that makes one relaxed and ready to sleep.

 LED bulbs for your Bedroom

The bedroom is supposed to be a place where your body can relax. A light bulb that betrays the purpose of a room should not be installed in the bedroom. You should, therefore, avoid using bulbs that produce too much blue light or produce light that mimics natural light too much.

  • The recommended brightness of the led bulb you should get for your room is between 1,500 – 4,000 lumen.
  • In addition, the recommended temperature of the light you should have in your room should be around 2,7000K to 3,000K

LED bulbs for the Living room

The living room is the most lively in any house. It is the place where you can watch a lot of TVs and also entertain visitors or guests. It is also a good place to relax while watching TV. Hence, you must have different sources of light in your Living room. That way, you can easily turn off the ones that do not suit the occasion.

The brightness of the bulbs should be between 1500 and 3,000 lumens.

LED Bulbs for Kitchen

A lot of activities can be carried out in the Kitchen. It has to have an optimal light source that will provide a steady does of Blue light that will keep you alert and awake. You can also install a recessed ceiling in the kitchen

LED bulbs for Bathroom

The recommended brightness you should have in the bathroom can vary from 4,000 lumens and 8,000 lumens. Bathrooms need to be well illuminated as the brightness can also chase any signs of drowsiness from the body. The LED bulb to be used should also have the capacity of producing cool light.

CONCLUSION

LED Bulbs are good, no doubt about that. However, you should also consider the fact that they also have their drawbacks. Using the wrong LED bulb can cause damage to your body although it is will be very small it might not be noticed. For instance, using the wrong LED lights can increase your exposure to UV lights. UV lights can in turn cause damage your eyes. While it might not necessarily develop into something serious, it is still a good thing to have in mind.

So there you have it! Choosing the right LED bulb does not have to be a burden. You only need to know what you are looking for and where you want to use it.